Students For Academic Freedom

On the Record: Oh, the Horror-witz · 12 February 2004

By Paige Rohe--The Emory Wheel, February 13, 2004

In my four years at Emory, one group has stood out above the rest for its ability to unite its supporters as much as the opposition. Let's face it, folks, we all know who I'm talking about: the College Republicans.

Although I disagree with the views of the College Republicans, I have to give them credit for putting their issues out there. After all, anyone who publicly supports unpopular politics certainly won't get a lot of fan mail. And the College Republicans do it with style, getting loads of bad press (as the saying goes, "bad press is good press") for bringing the infamous conservative speaker David Horowitz to campus last year. Despite the unrest Horowitz's speech caused in the student body, I kept my mouth shut. After all, I figured it was a one-time event, everyone has a right to their own opinion, and even Tsun Tzu said, "Know thy enemy." But I'm quite worried now, because the College Republicans want to bring Horowitz back to our divided campus for round two of "College Republican Smackdown!"

Now, of course, having Horowitz back wouldn't be such an affront to so many here if we weren't already consumed with uncertainty about an internal crisis of our own.

This year, Anthropology Professor Carol Worthman's use of a highly offensive word in a department meeting sparked renewed criticism that Emory has a larger race relations problem than it cares to admit. Many of us already knew that Dooley isn't the only skeleton that appears to live forever in our university's closet.

Be it toward cultural, racial or sexual groups, intolerance has been our silent companion for decades.

But I have to remain confident that as a result of these most recent and high profile acts of racial insensitivity, Emory is now truly in the process of instituting dramatic new policies to prevent them from happening again. Yes, I'm hoping that soon, we'll be part of an institution that issues a full report every year on the state of minorities on our campus.

Yet, this process cannot fully develop without the assistance and support of Emory's own students.

I think it's about time that the College Republicans and other student groups have a real dialogue about the ramifications of their political actions on our campus.

The College Republicans, although they do host moderate speakers, have a penchant for using bombastic rhetoric, or as I call them, "fighting words." They also seem to enjoy hiring "fighting people" like David Horowitz to get their point across. I tend to liken this type of behavior to a beefy Brock Lesner calling out Eddie Guerrero on the WWE.

Is this what politics and political education at Emory should be - a one-ring circus with a big bad guy?

Should political action be reduced to ad-hominem attacks, with a little policy thrown in for good measure?

Let me set the record straight: I don't mind having speakers I don't agree with come to campus.

I do mind placing our wounded sense of community in the hands of a notoriously disruptive speaker.

I'd be interested to hear how the College Republicans would define the positive effects of the David Horowitz event last year on Emory students, faculty and staff. Did people become more receptive to conservative ideas? Did a large constituency supporting Horowitz attend and lobby for him to return this year? Did the student who was harassed last year after speaking her mind at the Horowitz event feel the exercise had been in her benefit?

I'd wager the answer to all of those questions is "no," and in that case, there can be only one recourse for compromise. If Horowitz is truly the speaker the College Republicans want, why not bring in some people on the other parts of the ideological spectrum to join him in a panel? Better yet, invite the Young Democrats to provide a speaker of their own and make this event a debate with neutral moderators.

If the College Republicans really want Emory students to be educated about their views, they don't have to pull any punches - but they do have a responsibility to promote and maintain a tolerant and peaceful academic environment.

It's about time the College Republicans learned to do that. Inciting controversy without consideration for recent events here helps no one and hurts everyone.

Let's get back to why we're all here in the first place, shall we?

Let's get back to learning from each other and appreciating our diversity in a positive and constructive manner.

If we desire to have a community, we must be conscious of our leadership in that community. We must work to unify, not divide. We must strive to build inclusion and acceptance. Emory can be a university that promotes these values and ideals, if we work for it.

- Paige Rohe is a College senior from Atlanta.

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